This Blog monitors all terror activities of Indian Naxals ie., PWG (Peoples War Group) and Government policies to tackle naxal menace . PWG's current goal is to destablize India and Sub-Continent by a well coordinated strategy with the help of international revolutionaries and covert support from Pakistan and China .

The media which tried to cover the event were pounced upon, beaten up and had their cameras smashed. All by the CPM cadres or their police counterparts. Has the RSS ever been guilty of such behavious anywhere in India, including Gujarat? Now Karat is frightening the UPA that if it goes ahead with the talks with the IAEA, then it would withdraw its support to the coalition.

What have we come to? To what depths of political degradation have we fallen that the politicking especially prior to the first phase of elections to the Gujarat State Assembly should be turned into name-calling and mud-slinging? One is ashamed of our leaders. One expected some high class speechifying from the Congress leaders in fighting the elections. As it turned out, both Sonia Gandhi and the party general secretary Rahul Gandhi could only engage themselves in slovenly shouting unworthy of any leader. The idea, apparently, was to run down the Gujarat Chief Minister in whatever way possible. And understandably he hit back in ample measure unworthy of an elder. Sonia Gandhi was badly advised. So was Rahul. They had nothing positive to say and whatever they said reflected poor taste. Is Gujarat a “den of sins” as was made out by Congress leaders? Do they have their own hands clean?

Surprising support to the Gujarat Chief Minister has come from an unsuspected source: columnist Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar. According to him, the Chief Minister is “factually on firm ground in saying that political parties who have resorted to extra judicial killings in other states are hypocrites in trying to portray Gujarat as a den of sin”. And how right he is. In Punjab, during the rise of the Pakistan-ISI sponsored Sikh militancy, upholding civil rights or the rule of law did not end it. Sikh terrorism was quashed by state terror, by extra-judicial torture, kidnapping and murder.

Ask K.P.S.Gill. Earlier, when Naxalite militants threatened West Bengal in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was collusion between Congress and CPM that led to the crushing to the insurgents again, through extra-judicial means. As Aiyar noted, “Naxalism was not quashed by the rule of law, but by State terror”. Forget the past. Think of the present. Who halted the Nandigram revolt sponsored by the Bhumi Uchched Pratiridh Committee (BUPC): the West Bengal police? The CRPF? Neither. It was the CPM cadre, fully armed, which ‘invaded’ Nandigram in ‘Operation Recapture’ and took it over. Fully armed CPM cadres? Yes, fully-armed CPM cadres indeed. Not only did the CPM cadres take over Nandigram, they have been, according to The Statesman (November 16) laying down fines on BUPC supporters. The cadres would tell them that if they did not pay the fine they would have to leave their homes. Has the Congress raised its voice against this form of terrorism and utter lawlessness?

The State police simply failed to stop the cadres. And West Bengal’s Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya boasted about their work, saying the Opposition in Nandigram has been “paid back in the same coin”. He even went to the extent of saying that the CPM cadres were “legally and morally justified in entering Nandigram, armed”. Where, pray, is the rule of law? The media has not identified the so-called ‘Opposition’, which largely consisted of Muslims. Fancy something like that happening in Gujarat with a Gujarat Nandigram being ruthlessly put down, say, by ‘fully armed’ RSS cadres? The media then would have been up in arms. The RSS would have been damned as an anti-Muslim outfit. And the Chief Minister would have been condemned as a fascist, communal monster and killer of Muslims. The CPM has been able literally to get away with murder of Muslims. But what has the media to say about it? Nothing.

The Times of India (December 7, 2007) demanded of the Gujarat Chief Minister that he should “understand the rule of law”. Did it give the same advise to Buddhadev Bhattacharya? A report in The Pioneer (November 10) re-called what happened in Nandigram. It said: Hungry men, women and children, rendered homeless after CPM cadres began to shoot and bomb their way into Nandigram wailed in despair… They had to retreat under the deadly firepower of the Marxist militia armed with sophisticated weapons, including self-loading rifles…” Can one imagine RSS volunteers being thus armed? Where did the Marxist cadres get their arms from? The Congress has no answer. It prefers to look away from the scene.

CPM’s murderous activities are not new. The Marxists have been indulging in Nandigram-type violence against BJP workers in Kerala for decades. It doesn’t serve Congress to remember these foul acts. According to BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy, over the last 40 years since 1960s, about 150 RSS and BJP workers have been killed in Kerala, especially in Kannur district. Many more were attacked. As many as 15 survivors of such violent attacks, many of them amputees, told their stories to reporters in Delhi. They said that their hands and legs were cut off often because they had deserted the CPM to join the RSS or BJP. The violence shown by the CPM has never been projected by the media, because the CPM is allegedly ‘secular’. One would like to ask the CPM-led governments in Kerala and West Bengal how many of their party murderers have been booked, let alone tried and sentenced to death. If these state governments would not provide the answer, will Home Minister Shivraj Patil kindly provide one?

The late Nikhil Chakravartty was a confirmed Leftist, but even he had complaints to make against the CPM. Writing in Mainstream (January 23, 1993) a journal he edited, Chakravartty recalled how in a village in Nadia district, a deaf and dumb girl in a poverty-stricken family had been ‘allegedly’ raped by a worker of the ruling CPM. Her mother complained to Mamata Bannerjee, then a Union Minister of State and an M.P. Mamata sought an appointment with a CPM Minister in Kolkata who refused to see her. Mamata decided to observe dharna in front of the Chief Minister’s office. The police encircled her, physically dragged her down the stairs, whisked her away in a police van to police headquarters and locked her up until midnight. And this happened to a Union Minister and an MP. That is the CPM.

The media which tried to cover the event were pounced upon, beaten up and had their cameras smashed. All by the CPM cadres or their police counterparts. Has the RSS ever been guilty of such behavious anywhere in India, including Gujarat? Now Karat is frightening the UPA that if it goes ahead with the talks with the IAEA, then it would withdraw its support to the coalition. When will Congress learn that the BJP Chief Minister of Gujarat comes out smelling of roses when contrasted with the CPM thugs who observe no law and have no respect for authority? And has Congress forgotten that it was the CPM which originated the concept of gherao, torturing Company managers in many ways that was ultimately to lead to the closure of several industrial units in West Bengal? One suspects Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh suffering from loss of memory. Or is it a question of holding on to power at any cost? Answer, Congressmen, answer!

GilvesterFriday, January 11, 2008 (Thiruvannathapuram)The recent arrest of Hizbul Mujaheedin activist who was working as a salesman in a handicrafts showroom in Idukki district has brought all Kashmiri traders in Kerala under the scanner.

While the police have launched a drive to check the antecedents of the Kashmiris, the Kashmiri association has also stepped up vigil.

Gulam Musthafa, the General Secretary of the Kashmiri Association now has to keep a close watch on all Kashmiris coming to Kovalam.

Mustafa said, ''We take care of these things and from time to time we give the data to different agencies to the IB, CID and local police we are fully cooperating with them. Last two days I was with the local police going from door to door checking their residential address, checking the family members and cross checking with the police as well.''

While most Kashmiri traders in Kerala have been in the handicraft business for decades, it's the newer entrants who are suddenly under scrutiny. The frequent police checks on Kashmiri houses, shops and godowns has rattled the community.

Ameer Basheer a trader said, ''There was bit of harassment from police they were searching for Kashmiris, they went to our houses searched our stores. People had fear in the mind with police coming to the houses, suddenly they were shocked to see the policemen.''

But the police say they try not to harass without provocation Arun Kumar Sinha, IG police said, ''For the last two three years we have been maintaining registers of those doing business here. We have regular interaction with them, at the same time we take their cooperation. They inform us new arrival and we will verify their antecedents, if there is nothing.''

Even though Kerala has not witnessed any major terrorist activity in the recent past, the arrest of Hizbul activist and a top naxalite leader clearly suggests that terrorist outfits are using Kerala for their clandestine operations.

As a result in 2008 the Kerala police will have to gear up to deal with the emerging threat.

Ranchi, Jan 9: A top woman Maoist leader has been arrested from the Garwah district of Jharkhand, Samay sources said today.

According to the sources, acting on a tip off, police arrested Vineeta alias Simppi, a zonal commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), from Bardari village of Garwah district, about 140 km from Ranchi.

Police said she had masterminded some nine Maoist attacks in Jharkhand. She is accused of attacking a Home Guard training centre in Giridih district in 2006 and looting around 200 police rifles.

Vineeta had joined the CPI-Maoist group when she was only 11-year-old, they added.

GAYA: A group of seven prisoners, most of them hardcore Naxals including CPI (Maoist) zonal commander Kirani Yadav, made an abortive attempt to escape from the Gaya Central Jail on Friday midnight.

Sources said the prisoners slipped out of the specially protected cells of the jail allegedly using duplicate keys in connivance with some jail staff and headed towards the outer wall of the high security prison. As the group was about to scale the jail wall with the help of long ropes, a homeguard jawan saw them, raised an alarm and were soon overpowered by other guards.

Gaya DM Jitendra Srivastava - who reviewed the jail's security arrangements following the incident - said that he needed more time to come out with an official version of the abortive jailbreak attempt as his first priority was to make foolproof security arrangements inside the jail. The DM, however, said that a criminal case has been instituted against 18 jail inmates who were part of the larger conspiracy.

The DM said that the police were looking into the role of former RJD MLA Rajindra Yadav in planning the escape of his fellow prisoners. Yadav, who is currently serving a 10-year prison term in a kidnapping case, had once escaped from judicial custody. The DM maintained that the actual operation was carried out by some well-connected criminals and the Naxals only joined them in the jailbreak bid.

What came in the way of an official version was the absence of any credible explanation for smuggling in of the duplicate keys as it could not have been done without taking out either the original key or lock. The onus of this squarely falls on the key-keeper.

Sources said the prisoners tried to take advantage of the all-pervading darkness due to prolonged power cuts in the town. The sources said blatant violation of the jail manual and free intermingling of those lodged in special cells came to light during a high-level review of the arrangements inside the jail.

CHANDRAPUR: The police has unearthed two secret factories manufacturing arms for Naxalites as well as a number electronic devices, including a Japan-make walkie-talkie set, were recovered during a series of operations held over the last one week. The factories were unearthed in Ramnagar area of the city as well as neighbouring Ballarpur town.

This comes as a fallout of interrogation of two Naxalites Manoj and Vinayak Sonule last week and a subsequent arrest of a 20-year-old student from Ballarpur, Raman Punekar. Sonules were held with a Chinese made carbine and 136 live cartridges.

Earlier, when Punekar was nabbed from his residence, the police also got seized a huge cache of firearms including two country-made revolvers, pellets to be used in explosives, cartridges for 12 bore guns as well as other sophisticated electronic devices.

The walkie-talkie set was found at Punekar residence where the cops also laid hands on several moulds for manufacturing bullets as well as a voltmeter. A voltmeter is generally used for connectivity with the explosive and detonators.

Addressing a press conference here Additional Director General of Anti Naxal Operations (ANO), Pankaj Gupta said the sleuths found a printing press and a large amount of Naxal literature including - diaries and CDs. The police also found a computer and printer which is believed to be used for reproducing copies of the Naxal literature.

The seizure of sophisticated weapons and devices from the Sonules, suggests that they held important positions in the Chandrapur area committee of the banned Naxal outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Manoj and Raman were particularly active in North Gadchiroli-Gondia-Balaghat division of CPI (Maoist). “Our operations in Chandrapur, which is considered to be the main operation centre for urban Naxal activities, has dealt severe blow to the State Committee of Maoist,” Gupta added. He said they have plans to conduct further raids in coming days which will produce more arrests of Naxal cadres.

There is a wide network of underground activities on which the cadre is entrusted with the job of supplying weapons, communicating messages, inducting new cadres as well as training them, said Gupta.

The trio was also actively involved in motivating the women of the district to join the Naxal movement. They are also believed to be closely linked with the top rung members of the Communist Party Maoist - Arun Ferreira, Vernon and Vishnu - who were arrested earlier.

Gupta added that the three Naxalites arrested now are well groomed, dedicated and enjoy top positions in the underground cadres of Chandrapur Area Committee of CPI (Maoist).

He said the diaries recovered from Ballapur are of one Arun Ferreira, the Naxal arrested, few days back.

The Naxals see industry as a source of earning and won’t ruin its work, Chhattisgarh Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan.

Development has been denied to Bastar villages. Is there any administration in the interiors?

None. There is no agency in the villages seriously affected by the Naxals. Except, of course, the police. But how much longer will they have to wait?

We have contained the Naxals in the fringe. But we can’t progress beyond as we need higher force levels. There are five districts in Bastar and all of them are intensely or partially affected. For five districts with an area of 45,000 sq km, we have just 13 battalions from the government of India. We need at least 70 battalions. What clicked in Andhra Pradesh? Will you adopt their formula?

What clicked there was their strategy of Greyhound, their counter-guerrilla group. But now, the Naxals are doing more militarised operations and soon Andhra Pradesh will face the same problems that we are facing. The Naxals are being trained in Chhattisgarh. At any given time, 1,600 to 2,000 people from other states are being trained here. For Andhra Pradesh, it won’t be difficult to change its strategy. We have also been imparting an approach that is a mix of Greyhound type anti-guerrilla and the jungle warfare that is taught in Wairangte (the Army’s Counter Insurgency Warfare School in Wairangte, Mizoram). We have started this syllabus which is a combination of Greyhound and the courses taught at Wairangte.

What do you propose to do till you get enough forces?

That I won’t tell you.

Is that why the government sought the support of Salwa Judum?

Salwa Judum is a separate issue. What happened in Bastar is that we have been waging a battle with the Naxals for three years. The Naxals came there due to some issues that were never resolved. The tribals never accepted the Forest Act and so there was always some clash or the other with the forest agency. Then, Project Tiger came and villages got uprooted. The Naxals took this up and got control in Bijapur. But they are too rational and didn’t care much for tribal customs and rituals. So the Madia tribals rebelled and the first rebellion was the Jan Jagran Abhiyan in 1991. The government offered no support. It (the rebellion) collapsed. The rebels got killed by the Naxals when they returned to their villages. There was a rebellion again in 2005. The tribals were taking out rallies and also meeting the Naxals. Then they ran for safety to police camps. The Congress leader, Mahendra Karma, a Madia tribal himself, jumped into this as a political opportunity and took the Bijapur-based movement to Dantewada. The government supported the rebellion this time.

Why?

The government had been providing protection to the villagers from Naxal attacks. It was too expensive. So it was better to support the Salwa Judum.

And why were the SPOs recruited?

To protect the camps set up for Salwa Judum. They were trained by us. The Naxals started attacking Salwa Judum.

Was it a wrong move on the part of the government?

No. In a democracy, it is a legal provision. For the Naxals, it was a problem as they became very vulnerable. In fact, in an interview, Ganapathi Muppalla Lakshman Rao (general secretary and leader of the CPI (Maoist), said Sudhir Mahto (former Jharkhand deputy chief minister) was killed as he was afraid that Mahto would create another Salwa Judum.

So you feel Salwa Judum was an achievement...

Definitely, it is a success. But it is a success on an immediate level and can’t be a sustainable strategy. A tribal can’t live in shelter camps forever. He likes to be free and go to the markets, do cock fights, drink his toddy…

Is it not true that some Salwa Judum shelter camps are being converted into revenue villages? What would happen to their freedom then?

The tribals won’t accept it. They opposed the Bodhghat project only because the sago palm, which gives them their toddy, would be affected. The government had to withdraw the project. Even a bid to cultivate the tropical pine was resisted and had to be dropped. Now, jatropha is being thrust on them. Are they resisting?

I don’t know.

But the camps are still being converted into revenue villages.

It is not possible as many camps are in forest areas.

So, maybe only in revenue areas.

Yes, that is possible. But you have stopped supporting Salwa Judum. Operations have been scaled down.

Yes, we have stopped the rallies as we can’t protect them. We don’t have enough forces to protect the rallies. Do you know there are many unsanctioned Salwa Judum camps? We make camps for police, and Salwa Judum or villagers fleeing from the Naxals come and take over. Then we have to make a new camp for police to cover this camp. So far, eight to nine such camps have come up, apart from the 29 sanctioned ones.

The state support to Salwa Judum and the displacement is being linked with its need to help companies acquire land for mining projects.

Lohandiguda, which the Tatas want, is not under influence of the Naxals. Essar has already got land to lay its pipeline through Dantewada.

Don’t they face threat from the Naxals?

The Naxals won’t harm them. In fact, the day the Tatas start talking to the Naxals, they will get land. The Naxals see industry as a source of earning and won’t ruin its work. They loot police and army for arms and the government and industry for money.

Why is the state targeting human rights activists like Binayak Sen instead of tackling hardcore Naxalites? His only crime was to speak against Salwa Judum.

Sen has been arrested under the Chhattisgarh Public Security Act for helping a Maoist Politburo member hide. His name has come in Naxal documents.

So is he a Naxal? Won’t the government prefer to let him go rather than face criticism?

Sen provided logistic support to Naxals like Narayan Sanyal. It was not just intellectual support but more. We won’t let him go.

After the identification parade Gadchiroli district collectorate, Gupta informed media persons that the Naxals who laid down arms belonged to three dalams and hailed from 17 different villages in Etapalli tehsil.

Of the Naxalites who surrendered, one was a registered medical practitioner, who led mass surrenders after organising meetings in villages.

Ranchi, Jan 12 (ANI): Security personnel have killed three Maoists, including a self-styled zonal commander, in a gunbattle with the extremists in Jharkhand’s Palamu District on Friday evening.According to CRPF Inspector General (Operations) A P Maheshwari, a joint team of the CRPF and the Jharkhand police was engaged in a gunbattle with the Naxals in Chainpur Hills.About 200 CRPF personnel, with help of the State Police, were involved in the encounter that lasted about three hours, he said.Two guns, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ammunition were recovered from the spot, Maheshwari said. (ANI)

New Delhi - At least three Maoist rebels were killed in a fierce gunbattle between security forces and left-wing extremists in India's eastern state of Jharkhand, a news report said Saturday. The encounter between security forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force and the local police, and the Maoists took place in a hilly region in northern Palamau district on Friday night, the PTI news agency reported.

"Three Maoists were killed in a operation and we have identified one of them as Mahender Karwa, who is a zonal commander of the Maoists," CRPF Inspector General for Operations AP Maheshwari told the PTI.

He said some 200 CRPF personnel, with help of the state police were involved in a three-hour-long gunbattle.

Arms and explosive devices were also recovered from the scene of the shoot-out, some 150 kilometres north-west of state capital Ranchi.

Maoist rebels, who claim to be fighting for the rural poor, tribal people and the landless, operate in 13 of India's 29 states.

Thousands of people, mostly police and paramilitary personnel and government officials, have been killed in the insurgency since the late 1960s.

More than 400 people, including 129 civilians and 93 alleged Naxalites, were killed in various incidents of violence between January and September 2007, according to government data.

11 Jan 2008, 2148 hrs IST,PTINEW DELHI: With a spate of attacks by Naxalites on railways properties, the overall security in trains will come under the scanner at a meeting between Railway Minister Lalu Prasad and Home Minister Shivraj Patil here on Saturday.

The meeting to be held in Rail Bhawan comes in the backdrop of a spurt in violence in which railways had to bear the brunt of bomb blasts in trains, uprooting of tracks and storming of railway stations in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and in some places in the North East.

Since the entire the gamut of railway security will come under scrutiny, sources said the meeting would be attended by RPF DG M K Sinha, senior officials of Home and Railway ministries.

The pattern of attacks unleashed by Naxals showed they preferred to target railways rather than civilians to ventilate their anger against the government.

In the North East too, insurgents have been attacking trains with the recent blast in Rajdhani Express in Assam being the latest example.

Deployment of security forces on the Kashmir rail link project might also figure prominently at the meeting

HYDERABAD : The Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the Janashakti have called upon the people of Telangana to launch an agitation to thwart the day-to-day programmes of political leaders belonging to parties that were anti-Telangana.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the Maoist North Telangana Special Zone Committee secretary Chandranna and CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Godavari Valley Area Committee secretary Bharat lashed out at the Congress for its decision to constitute a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC). They accused the Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of working for the interests of the rich people from Andhra region. The standards of living of people of Telangana had deteriorated over the years due to the continued exploitation by people from the Andhra region. They said the Congress was using the Telangana slogan to regain power and cheated people by claiming that it was concerned about the separate Statehood demand. The talk of SRC was nothing but a Congress conspiracy to deny a separate State. The leaders demanded that all the Congress Ministers, MPs and MLAs from Telangana should immediately resign as they had failed to fulfil their promise of creating a separate Telangana. They should also oppose the leadership of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and pressure the Congress leaders till they dropped the move to constitute the SRC. They called on the people to prevent the Congress leaders from touring Telangana. People should take inspiration from the ‘Simon Go Back’ movement of the freedom struggle and launch a new slogan ‘second SRC go back’

Friday, January 11, 2008

Jan 10th 2008 | KATHMANDUFrom The EconomistA vote to abolish the monarchy gives Nepal a better, but not certain, hope of peace

IN CLEAR wintry light, shining on the snowy tops of the distant Himalayas, a few hundred Hindu ascetics and others gathered in a Kathmandu park on January 7th to protest against the impending abolition of Nepal's 240-year-old monarchy. It was consigned to oblivion on December 23rd, in an almost unanimous vote of the country's parliament. This was momentous—even if the vote left it for the next assembly, due to be elected in April, to confirm the sentence. Yet, apart from the one small protest, which ended after some gentle placard-waving, there has been no whisper of public demurral.

One explanation for this docility is that most Nepalis agree with parliament. Few modern monarchs have blundered so royally as Nepal's incumbent, King Gyanendra, who seized absolute power in 2005 and was forced by mass protests to return it the following year. He is also popularly believed—without evidence—to have been involved in the murder of his brother, the previous king, in 2001. Many Nepalis seem ambivalent about kings in general; but almost all want to see the back of this one.

There is, however, another, less positive, explanation for the public apathy about the monarchy's future. After a year of quarrelsome and ineffective government—including two cancelled elections—many Nepalis doubt that their leaders will deliver what they promise. The government of Girija Prasad Koirala, an octogenarian four-time prime minister, is charged above all with bringing a lasting end to a nasty decade-long civil war, for which elections are considered crucial.

The looming poll, to produce an assembly that will rewrite Nepal's constitution, was last due in November. It was postponed when Maoists, one side in the inconclusive civil war, withdrew from the government. They reasonably feared electoral defeat. That would have been a demoralising blow for their cadres, including some 23,000 former combatants, languishing in makeshift camps under UN supervision. Late last year the Maoists rejoined the government. The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price. All eight political parties that form the interim government promised to begin campaigning for the election. According to Baburam Bhattarai, the Maoists' deputy leader, there is “no question” of another delay.

Leaders of the other parties agree that further delay would be disastrous. Yet, in private, almost all expect it. First, they say, the Maoists are sure to back out again. They also point to insecurity in the southern Terai region, home to around 40% of Nepalis. In the past year, 130 people have been killed there in complicated and worsening ethnic and caste-based violence.

Meanwhile, Nepalis—who are among Asia's poorest—are having a miserable time. Annual economic growth, of about 2%, is barely keeping pace with the population. In a war-enfeebled state, crime is everywhere on the rise. In Kathmandu, a haven from much of the misery, people feel especially disgruntled, because their protests brought this government to power. Further stagnation, many feel, could lead to another sudden change: an army takeover—perhaps disguised behind a civilian façade—may be the likeliest sort.

Indeed, the monarchist army chief, General Rookmangud Katwal, this week struck a jarring note. Egged on by India, which fears a Maoist takeover above all, he declared that no former Maoist fighter would be allowed to join the army. Rather feebly, Mr Koirala seconded him—to the irritation of the Maoists, who want all of their cadres inducted into a new national army. They have a point: they voluntarily ended the war, while in control of much of Nepal. But, loth to return to the jungle, the Maoists might settle for much less: army posts for a few hundred former insurgents, perhaps, and jobs for the rest.

In fact, there may be no big problem that the government could not settle. Tribal militiamen in the Terai might accept a more modest bribe. But to offer such compromises, strong leadership is needed. Mr Koirala, as he inhales from the oxygen tank that is keeping his ailing body alive, needs to ponder that.

People urged to agitate and stop programmes of political parties which are against the region

‘Congress using the Telangana slogan to regain power in the State’

‘Talk of SRC is nothing but a conspiracy to deny separate State’

HYDERABAD: The Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the Janashakti have called upon the people of Telangana to launch an agitation to thwart the day-to-day programmes of political leaders belonging to parties that were anti-Telangana.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the Maoist North Telangana Special Zone Committee secretary Chandranna and CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Godavari Valley Area Committee secretary Bharat lashed out at the Congress for its decision to constitute a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC).

Working for rich

They accused the Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of working for the interests of the rich people from Andhra region.

The standards of living of people of Telangana had deteriorated over the years due to the continued exploitation by people from the Andhra region.

They said the Congress was using the Telangana slogan to regain power and cheated people by claiming that it was concerned about the separate Statehood demand. The talk of SRC was nothing but a Congress conspiracy to deny a separate State.Resignation sought

The leaders demanded that all the Congress Ministers, MPs and MLAs from Telangana should immediately resign as they had failed to fulfil their promise of creating a separate Telangana. They should also oppose the leadership of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and pressure the Congress leaders till they dropped the move to constitute the SRC.

They called on the people to prevent the Congress leaders from touring Telangana.

People should take inspiration from the ‘Simon Go Back’ movement of the freedom struggle and launch a new slogan ‘second SRC go back’.

BALARAMPUR (Purulia), Jan. 10: The month of December did not see much of Maoist action. But a CPI-M local committee member was killed reportedly by the Maoists last week, as the new year begun.

Earlier, two members of the CPI-M local committee in Barabazar and Balarampur were killed by Maoists on 1 and 20 November last. Maoists spared blood bath in December. But they welcomed the new year with yet another brutal murder.

After a gap of 42 days, a member of CPI-M local committee, Pahalan Kumar Majhi of Besra village in Balarampur, Purulia, was shot dead on 1 January. Earlier, on 20 November one Sufal Mandi of Ghatbera village in Balarampur of Purulia district, also a CPI-M local committee member, was killed, while on 2 November a local committee member of CPI-M was shot dead by a gang of armed Maoists in Barabazar.

Before attacking Pahalan Kumar, Maoists looted a gun with five cartridges, from Mr Abinash Kumar of Jugidih village, just 8 km from the Besra village. Mr Kumar submitted his licence to police the next day.

Protesting against the brutal murder in Besra village, the CPI-M called a six hour bandh in Balarampur which passed off peacefully. n SNS

HYDERABAD : The Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the Janashakti have called upon the people of Telangana to launch an agitation to thwart the day-to-day programmes of political leaders belonging to parties that were anti-Telangana. In a joint statement on Thursday, the Maoist North Telangana Special Zone Committee secretary Chandranna and CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Godavari Valley Area Committee secretary Bharat lashed out at the Congress for its decision to constitute a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC). They accused the Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) of working for the interests of the rich people from Andhra region. The standards of living of people of Telangana had deteriorated over the years due to the continued exploitation by people from the Andhra region. They said the Congress was using the Telangana slogan to regain power and cheated people by claiming that it was concerned about the separate Statehood demand. The talk of SRC was nothing but a Congress conspiracy to deny a separate State. The leaders demanded that all the Congress Ministers, MPs and MLAs from Telangana should immediately resign as they had failed to fulfil their promise of creating a separate Telangana. They should also oppose the leadership of Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and pressure the Congress leaders till they dropped the move to constitute the SRC. They called on the people to prevent the Congress leaders from touring Telangana. People should take inspiration from the ‘Simon Go Back’ movement of the freedom struggle and launch a new slogan ‘second SRC go back’.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

KalingaTimes Correspondent Malkangiri (Orissa), Jan 10: Malkangiri police on Thursday claimed to have arrested two Maoists from Mangipali village of the district and seized explosive materials from their possession.

According to Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Satish Kumar Gajbhiye, the two Left wing extremists, Madkami Singha and Madhi Soma were arrested during the wee hours of the day.

The two were nabbed by the Special Operation Group personnel during a combing operation that was going on in the MV-79 police station area since Wednesday evening, Gajbhiye said.

Explosives used in laying landmines and Maoist posters and banners were recovered from the possession of the two extremists, he added.

Police claimed the two were involved in a number of cases including the one in which the Helper of a passenger bus was killed while defusing a landmine laid on one of the main roads in MV-79 area a few months ago.

January 2: Three cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as ‘district committee member Gunaganti Yadaiah alias Shyam (carrying head money of INR 300000), Nakka Raju alias Shekar and Boddu Kishtamma alias Shoba, both dalam (squad) members carrying head money of INR 20000 each, surrendered along with their weapons before the Superintendent of Police, Charu Sinha, at Mahabubnagar district headquarters. All the three extremists were accused of killing the Amangal mandal (administrative division) parishad president, R. Panthu Naik, in the district. Shyam was also reportedly involved in over 33 crimes, including the killing of Maktal Member of Legislative Assembly Chittem Narsi Reddy.

January 4: A squad member of the CPI-Maoist, identified as D. Srinu alias Vikram, who planned to extort INR 1000000 from businessmen in the Rangareddy district was arrested from Vanasthalipuram locality in the capital city of Hyderabad. Cyberabad Police Commissioner, S. Prabhakar Reddy, told that Srinu had earlier collected INR 10,000 from the businessman in Vanasthalipuram in December 2007. He approaches the same businessman again with a fresh demand for INR 1000000 but was caught by the police. The police also recovered an AK-47 rifle with 50 bullets from his possession. Reddy further said that Srinu along with Shyam, member of the Mahabubnagar District Committee, and Shekhar, a squad member, had extorted money from five persons. The other two Maoists had already surrendered before the Mahabubnagar police on January 2. Srinu was also allegedly involved in the killing of Amangal Mandal Prarishad president Panthu Naik in Mahabubnagar district recently. He was also accused of killing a Congress party leader, Muddula Rao, at Thimmayapally village on June 28, 2005 and a ration shop dealer S. Narasimha at Ajilapur village five months later.

January 8: The CPI-Maoist cadres killed D. Ramaswamy, a leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) party, at Baavurugonda village in the Koththaguda mandal of Warangal district. The group of Maoist was led by Yellandu-Koththagudem area committee secretary Marri Ravi alias Sudhakar. The insurgents also left a letter in the name of Sudhakar alleging that Ramaswamy was responsible for the encounters in the Koththaguda agency area.

Jharkhand

January 1: A police constable, identified as Sunil Kumar, was killed and three others wounded when armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist attacked a police outpost at Bansjore in the Simdega district. "Nearly 500 Maoist rebels surrounded the outpost and hurled petrol bombs before firing indiscriminately around midnight last night. Policemen retaliated and the gunfight lasted till three in the morning," said Sergeant Major J.K. Jha. Police have claimed some fatality on the Maoists side on the basis of bloodstains found at the encounter site. A civilian was also injured in the attack. Before launching the attack, the Maoists reportedly cut a tree at Keriaghati and also planted landmines to block police reinforcements from reaching the outpost.

An explosion targeting the Simdega Superintendent of Police, D.B. Sharma, who was rushing with police re-enforcement to the encounter site, and a brief exchange of fire between the police and extremists occurred at Keriaghati. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.

January 3: A joint team comprising police personnel of Palamau and Garwah districts raided Obra village under Bishrampur police station in the Palamau district and arrested five alleged CPI-Maoist supporters. The police also recovered five guns from their possession.

The Garhwa district Superintendent of Police, Saket Singh, suspended a police constable, identified as Mukesh Kumar Singh, on the charges of passing information to the Maoists. Police sources said that the conduct of Mukesh was under the scanner since he was posted with Majhiaon police station. Recently, the police found strong evidence showing his indulgence in passing vital information to the Maoists in the area.

January 5: A CPI-Maoist senior cadre, Ashok Yadav alias Ashokji, a resident of Arwal village in Bihar’s Jehanabad district, was arrested by the Special Task Force personnel near Danua village in the Giridih district. Ashokji is wanted in 13 cases of murder, arms loot and ransom. A pistol, five live cartridges, two cell phones and a diary were recovered from his possession.

January 6: Jharkhand Police arrested Vineeta alias Simppi, the women wing ‘area commander’ of the CPI-Maoist, from Bardari village in the Garwah district. Police sources told that she is wanted in 22 murder cases and 37 cases of encounter with the police. During her interrogation, Vineeta reportedly admitted that she was a part of the CPI-Maoist squad, which had planted a landmine which killed six police personnel at Saro valley in the district on September 12, 2007 and looted 185 rifles from a police barrack in Giridih on July 14, 2007.

January 8: Around 200 armed cadres of the CPI-Maoist raided Muktma village under Simaria police station in the Chatra district and abducted three persons to the nearby forest. Subsequently, the Maoists killed two of them, identified as Indradev Singh and Shambhu Singh, and released the third one Manoj Kumar.

The CPI-Maoist unit in Jharkhand recently gave compensation to families of their cadres who died during the anti-Maoist operations by the police. The families of some of the cadres killed in the Latehar and Chatra areas were the first beneficiaries of the scheme. Jharkhand Police spokesperson, R K Mallik, confirmed the introduction of compensation by Maoists. "We have received information from different sources about the Maoists giving compensation to families of their cadres who lost their lives during anti-Naxal operation by police," said Mallik. He said the Maoists were trying to implement the scheme in all the Maoist-infested districts of Jharkhand. In some cases, the Maoists have also taken over the responsibility of school-going children of their dead cadres, the police said.

Chhattisgarh January 3: Police neutralized a CPI-Maoist camp following an encounter with the Maoists near Kotrapal village under Bhairamgarh police station limits in the Bijapur district. No causality was reported. Police recovered explosives, detonators, radio, Maoist literature and daily use material from the camp.

The Chhattisgarh government has sought nine more battalions of central para-military forces (CPMFs) immediately to deal with the increasing Maoist activity in the State. Chief Secretary Shivraj Singh and the Director General of Police, Vishwa Ranjan, made this demand during a meeting with the Union Cabinet Secretary, K.M. Chandrasekhar, in New Delhi. Vishwa Ranjan said the State would require 15 battalions of CPMFs to check Maoist violence and an equal number to ensure the safe return of the displaced people to their villages. At present, the State had 12 battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and one Mizo battalion.

According to Chhattisgarh Police records, police fatalities in the Maoist-related violence increased in 2007 compared to the previous year. Girdhari Nayak, the Inspector General of Police (Maoist Operations), told IANS, "Chhattisgarh recorded 436 deaths in Maoist-related violence in 2007, as against 458 casualties reported in 2006. But the deaths of policemen and special police officers (SPOs) shot up to 200 last year, while that number was 74 in 2006." He, however, said the State has witnessed a substantial drop in civilian casualties in 2007 with 165 deaths, as against 306 deaths in 2006 and 126 the previous year. According to official data, 67 Maoists were killed in the State in 2007, while the figure was 73 in 2006 and 27 in 2005. Nayak said that the police have recovered large caches of arms and ammunition from the Maoists in 2007, including 96 weapons, 175 landmines, 208 detonators, 49 gelatine sticks, five wireless sets, five magazines and seven claymore mines.

January 5: The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked police personnel engaged in a combing operation near Cherpal in the Bijapur district. Another group of Maoists attacked police personnel near Kotrapal. No casualty was reported in either of these incidents.

January 7: Police in the Kanker district claimed to have killed seven hardcore CPI-Maoist cadres following a raid on a camp of the outfit in a forested area under Koyalibera police station. Pawan Deo, Deputy Iinspector General of Police (Kanker range), told IANS, "We found heavy blood stains at the encounter site and enough evidence that rebels' bodies have been carried deep inside the forest during the 90-minute fierce gun battle." The police recovered three rifles, 36 detonators, four bundles of wires used for landmine blasts, pipe bombs, tiffin bombs, Maoist uniform and literature.

The CPI-Maoist cadres attacked two vehicles of police personnel near Narsampuram in the Dantewada district. However, no causality was reported.

Orissa

January 2: A policeman was injured when the CPI-Maoist cadres attacked a police outpost at Baunsajhar in the Biramitrapur police station area of Sundergarh district.

January 4: A group of 20 Maoists, including two women, attacked a forest range office at Badrama in the Sambalpur district, assaulted six forest guards and locked them up in a room before ransacking the premises and setting it ablaze. Seven jeeps and four motorbikes parked in the premises were also set ablaze. Files and documents of the range office were destroyed in the fire. The Maoists also attacked the residence of a forest official, K C Nath, and took away cash, ornaments and mobile handsets.

January 5: Two cadres of the CPI-Maoist, identified as Raj and Kalia Mirdha, were killed during an encounter between police personnel and the extremists in the forests near Badibahal village under Jamankira Police Station of Sambalpur district. Police recovered their dead bodies on January 6-morning from the encounter site. However, several other Maoists injured in the encounter managed to escape. The police claimed to recovered three SLRs that the Maoists had looted from the police in the past and one .315 rifle that the Maoists had taken away when they attacked the Forest Range Office at the nearby Badrama Ghat on January 4-night.

Maharashtra

January 6: The Chandrapur district police arrested two CPI-Maoist cadres, identified as Manoj Maroti Sonule and Vinayak Sonule, from Ramnagar. Police said that both are suspected to be members of the ‘Chandrapur Area Committee’ of the outfit. A hi-tech Chinese carbine gun, ammunition magazines and 135 live cartridges (9-mm) along with a large quantity of Maoist literature were recovered from the arrested Maoists. The Superintendent of Police, Cherring Dorje, informed that the literature includes Maoists posters and handbills, CDs, dairies having details of correspondence between Vishnu Shriniwasan and Warnan Gonsalves, two hardcore Maoists who were brought to Chandrapur recently from Mumbai for investigation into the offence registered there, and full report of ninth congress of the CPI-Maoist.

West Bengal

January 1: Suspected cadres of the CPI-Maoist shot dead a local level leader of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) at Besra village in the Purulia district.

The headless body of Sisir Chatterjee, a zonal committee member of ruling CPI-Marxist, was recovered from the Mangalkot area of Burdwan district. Police claimed that the Maoists are involved in the killing.

A group of 20 Maoists raided the house of Abinash Kumar, a ration dealer at Jugidihi village in the Purulia district, and took away a double-barrel gun, a motorbike and a cell phone. The Maoists then raided two more houses before setting ablaze the house of a local committee member of the ruling CPI-Marxist in an adjoining village.

January 2: CPI-Maoist cadres shot dead Ramprasad Mondal, a local committee member of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and a primary teacher, in Madhabpur village under Chapra police station of Nadia district. "The murder is the handiwork of Maoists. Police movement is difficult in the area because of poor road links. The Maoists are taking advantage of that to strengthen their base in Chapra," Nadia district Superintendent of Police, H.K. Kusumakar, said. Around 50 printed leaflets found at the incident site warned villagers against testifying in cases pending against the Maoists. Some posters also warned the villagers against co-operating with the police.

"We were threatened by some VHP and Bajrang Dal activists, who tried to attack and ransack the centre and demanded its closure," a Christian missionary of Emmanuel Leadership Training Centre said here.

"After the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists tried to attack and ransack the centre and demanded its closure, Christian missionaries informed the police and appeared scared," Phulwarisharief police told IANS.

According to a Christian missionary associated with the centre, the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists charged the Christian missionaries of luring Hindus by offering them money and promising education and jobs.

Father Shrikant Prasad of the centre has refuted the allegations of conversion.

"We were threatened by some VHP and Bajrang Dal activists, who tried to attack and ransack the centre and demanded its closure," a Christian missionary of Emmanuel Leadership Training Centre said here.

"After the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists tried to attack and ransack the centre and demanded its closure, Christian missionaries informed the police and appeared scared," Phulwarisharief police told IANS.

According to a Christian missionary associated with the centre, the VHP and Bajrang Dal activists charged the Christian missionaries of luring Hindus by offering them money and promising education and jobs.

Father Shrikant Prasad of the centre has refuted the allegations of conversion.

BHUBANESWAR: A three-member police team is in riot-hit Kandhamal to assess the situation even as the Opposition parties decided to defy restrictions and visit the strife-torn district on January 12.

Meanwhile, the Global Council of Indian Churches has protested the apathy of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and Ministry of Minority Affairs in addressing the problems faced by the Christians in the ‘worst’ communal riot of 2007.

However, the State-level Coordination Committee on Communal Harmony failed to meet on Wednesday because of the delay by the Government in notifying the names of newly inducted members. The committee will meet on Thursday.

The three-member police team led by Additional Director- General of Police Prakash Mishra is in Kandhamal for spot inspection and assessment of the situation, Home Secretary T K Mishra told mediapersons here on Wednesday.

Curfew still continued at Bramhanigaon, Baliguda, Barkhama and Phiringia police station areas while it was lifted in Phulbani town a few days back.

Mishra said the State Government had requested the Centre to extend the stay of the CRPF deployed in the affected areas till January 14.

On allegation of distribution of low quality relief materials, the Home Secretary said NCM members had appreciated the State Government’s relief and restoration work.

Chief Secretary Ajit Kumar Tripathy claimed that total normalcy had been restored in Kandhamal.

He said the Government has not received any formal complaint relating to distribution of low quality relief material.

The district administration and the police on Tuesday brought back nearly 400 residents of Kattingia and Tiarangaon villages, who had fled to neighbouring Ganjam district.

“Though these people were not attacked in violence, they had left fearing attack from the rival group,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission team led by Mukesh Singh held talks with district collector Manish Verma during the day.

Posted at Wednesday, 09 January 2008 21:01 IST Ranchi, Jan 9: A top woman Maoist leader has been arrested from the Garwah district of Jharkhand, Samay sources said today.

According to the sources, acting on a tip off, police arrested Vineeta alias Simppi, a zonal commander of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), from Bardari village of Garwah district, about 140 km from Ranchi.

Police said she had masterminded some nine Maoist attacks in Jharkhand. She is accused of attacking a Home Guard training centre in Giridih district in 2006 and looting around 200 police rifles.

Vineeta had joined the CPI-Maoist group when she was only 11-year-old, they added.

'' We suspect they had a hand and in fact the attack in Brahamanigaon could have been engineered by them,'' said Tarun K Mishra, Home Secretary, Orissa.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been alleging that certain Christian establishments and NGOs operating in Kandhmal and Gajapati districts had links with Maoists and were diverting foreign funds to Leftist ultras just to keep them on their side.

''Two NGOs working in our village were behind the attack. They have been publicly saying that have links with naxalites and will drive away all Hindus with their support,'' said Jogeswar Patra, Brahmanigaon.

The state government has ordered a police investigation into the NGO-Maoist links and hopes to include this as part of the Judicial probe. But NGOs say every time there is social unrest they are the first targets. An inquiry, they hope, will clear all doubts.

''If there are some naxal-led activities which are found to be happening in those areas and if government suspects an NGO nexus, I think it's high time that this should be absolutely unraveled,'' said Jagadanand, Prominent NGO Leader & Secretary, CYSD.

The Maoists, in a recent press release, accused the Sangh Parivaar and the state government of dragging them into the picture only to hide the real culprits. And as each side accuses the other the truth gets hazier.

Chandauli, January 9 Nine days after the terrorist attack at the CRPF Group Centre in Rampur district, a blast shook the Sahupuri area of Chandauli district on Wednesday, just 400 metres away from another CRPF camp.The blast has raised questions on the security around the CRPF camps in the district, which is close to the Varanasi district. Sources said the blast took place around 1.40 pm today inside one of the vacant flats in the Labour Colony of the Sahupuri area. The colony has 44 blocks with 12 flats each.

Just after the blast, the district police and higher officials of 148 CRPF Battalion reached the spot under Alinagar police station. The Bomb Disposal Squad of 36th PAC Battalion recovered the remains of a crude bomb inside the flat. The team also recovered around 500 grams of explosive material including sulphur.

The samples of the substance found will be sent for testing, said police officers of Chandauli thana.

Initial investigations suggested that the flat was illegally occupied by one Pussu Sonkar, whose brother Buddhu Sonkar is a history-sheeter wanted in many criminal cases, Additional Police Superintendent (Chandauli) Jawahar Singh told The Indian Express. “It is possible the crude bomb might have been hidden in the flat by Buddhu Sonkar himself. The explosive materials suggest that Buddhu and Pussu were involved in making crude bombs, when the blast took place,” he added.

Pussu has been detained and a search has been launched to nab Buddhu. The brothers are residents of Kuttha village of Alinagar area.

Though Chandauli Police dismissed the incident as a insignificant blast by a criminal, the CRPF did not rule out the possibility of the incident being a prelude to a bigger terror attack like the Rampur incident.

“The incident is not so insignificant to us as it could have been a terrorists’ handiwork. The possibility of a similar blast like Rampur cannot be ruled out,” Commandant of 148 Battalion Sumer Singh said.

The battalion comprising eight companies has over 1,100 security personnel posted in the Naxal-infested Chandauli and Sonebhadra districts.

At any given time, there are more than 300 personnel present at the camp on rotational duty, Singh added.

A fundamental aspect of the relationship between you, as an Indian citizen, and the Indian state may soon radically change: so far, you are in the eyes of the state constitutionally presumed innocent unless proved otherwise. This presumption of innocence, not in a court of law but in everyday affairs, will no longer be valid if Indian citizens are required to carry, and produce on demand, identity cards issued by the state.

Though the ID card proposal mooted by Delhi's Lieutenant-Governor seems to have been dropped after a flurry of protests from various politicians, jurists and citizens' groups, a Multi-Purpose National Identity Card project (first mooted by L K Advani during the tenure of the NDA government) is still in the pipeline. The avowed purpose of ID cards is to strengthen security. But in effect, as many have pointed out, mandatory ID cards for citizens merely increase the risks of police and other official harassment of citizens who, in order to demonstrate their bona fides have to produce the required documentation, a failure to do so being tantamount to a determination of guilt.

In practical terms, the introduction of a generic ID card (as distinct from use-specific cards such as the Voter ID card, the PAN card, the ration card, etc) would greatly increase the scope for police corruption and intimidation, hazards which are already entrenched in our day-to-day lives. However, it is in the constitutional relationship between the citizen and the state that the more insidious and the greater damage would be done. Unlike the French judicial system where the accused is required to prove his innocence, in Indian law (as derived from British jurisprudence) the presumption of innocence is a fundamental right of the citizen.

It is a right, however, that is often grossly violated in countless cases of wrongful detention, the use of third-degree methods to obtain a 'confession', lethal 'encounters', and other instances of the state's misuse of its powers.

And the powers of the Indian state - in theory if not in practice - are already only too formidable when viewed from the perspective of the common citizen who has little or no protection from repressive laws which often make a cruel mockery of our democratic and supposedly free society. In the sacred name of national security, the common citizen - whose security and safety should be the paramount concern of the nation state - has been subjected to the often vicious implementation of laws such as TADA, and its subsequent avatars of POTO and POTA, cute-sounding acronyms that disguised an official sanctioning of state brutality.

Though TADA and its successors have been scrapped, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 continues to provide protective camouflage to state terror perpetrated against individuals in the name of national security. Far from strengthening national security, the misuse of the state's powers has deeply undermined the foundation of the polity, as witnessed by the frightening fact that some 160 districts of the country, comprising over 180 million people are under 'Naxal' control.

So much for 'national security'. Using the mantra of national security, the state has progressively encroached on individual liberties: from phone-tapping to cyber-snooping, from police barriers that impose daily stress on already harried commuters to the 'bandobast' for 'VVIP movement' which totally dislocates the normal functioning of city life.

At the end of his tether, thanks to official zulm , it is not the common citizen who ought to be asked to prove his credentials by an extra ID card. Rather, it is officialdom that needs to produce a clean chit certifying that, despite evidence to the contrary, ours is not in fact a police state but still a democracy. Or is it? Is the state innocent, or guilty? And how is it going to prove it, either way?

(Readers are invited to suggest issues of general interest - political, social, cultural or economic - for discussion in this column. E-mail the topic of your choice to secondopinion@timesgroup.com. Or write to Second Opinion, The Times of India, 7, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110103.)

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Total number of incidents, casualties in security forces, casualties in civilians, extremists killed and weapons recovered in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), North-Eastern States (NE) and naxal affected States.Source of the Data:Rajya Sabha

CRIME CONTROL: The public just has to call if they suspect a crime and the police will swoop down.

Rajdeep Sardesai

Chennai: For most men in khaki one of the most challenging things is perhaps not being able to get a peep put of potential witnesses. However, the Chennai police seem to have found a way out of the problem.

The Chennai police refuse to come on record on this topic but they also say that this is their new plan to curb rowdy elements in the city. So if any resident suspects a neighbour of indulging in illegal activities, all he has to do is pick up the phone and call 100.

And the police will swoop down, they will check the neighbour's house, question him or her and then watch the house to ensure these so-called illegal activities don't continue.

However, it could be a move that many may say could definitely be misused.

“If I don't like my neighbour, I can easily make a phone call and harass them. So this system is not going to work,” says a resident, G Shanthi.

Others say its good, but could do with some modification.

“There has been an increase in naxal activities and LTTE cadres in the state. But the police should ask people renting out houses to inform them about who is living in that house and if possible give a copy of the lease agreement to the police. That's all the public can be asked to do to co-operate,” says a resident, S Ganesan.

And then there are those who feel that this system just might turn Chennai into a city of Peeping Toms

A 35,000 strong force, made up of 35 Indian Reserve (IR)battalions, is being raised by the central government to assist solely in fighting the Naxalite threat.

The force will:

Be raised with 50% central funds and 50% state funds on loan from the central government.

Take three years to stand up.

This force is in addition to 26 IR battalions, a 26,000 force, already deployed in 10 affected states. Sadly a majority of these troops are ill-equipped and lack training necessary to conduct operations in dense jungles without relying on brute force. In short, this is a heavy new investment in a policy tool that has not been garnering many returns.

Worth noting:

Using government estimate of 10,000 Naxalites, brings the ratio to seven central personnel for each Naxal. (The actual number of Naxalites is much higher.)

Ritakumari was a woman like any other in the village, who goes talking with anyone and singing around the fields and forest. Though beautiful in appearance, she kept intact her good behavior. 'A son of a brave man either should do or die,' Ritakumari would say.

Ritakumari's husband, Bambahadur is the most frank person in our village, so it can also be said that there is no one against him. Though, however he had been exhausted, Bambahadur would come to wake up all early in the morning before the cock crows, but today nobody is happy looking at his cheerless mood. 'Why you do worry? Now you will go to Rita's house and get married there with Rita. More you worry, just thinner you become, so if you spend days cheerfully, you will neither look old nor get creased on the face.' I gave a boost, He was like my older brother.

'If anyone pronounces a word to Ritakumari, my temple gets burning, gets burning as though I would drink blood. It makes no difference if anyone tells me off however, but if a single word falls on my life, I lose my consciousness.' While speaking these words to us, he, leaving us, went to his room. We guessed he had not liked our satire and our satire had made his heart ache bitterly.

The house of Ritakumari is not more than fifteen-sixteen minutes walk form mine. Though, Ritakumari was the third born daughter among the seven sisters, she was more than the eldest one in terms of household work and in addition she was the most beautiful girl at the village, so all the village boys liked her. Of course, thre were some rumors about Ritakumari's marriage when I was at the village. Though economic conditions were extremely weak, Ritakumari was rich in physique, a number of people would come daily at her house to persuade her to marry and her mother would harass others telling their number counting on her figures.

I'm remembering that how Bambahadur had given a nose ring of four ana to Rita just two years before. Before me in the Kali temple at the village they had promised to live and die together for life long. My heart becomes so full just by remembering it. 'I don't want to see Ritakumari to spread hands before the world to satisfy stomach and to wrap up the body, so if you can find a soldier.' Once Ritakumari's mother had said on Tuesday evening while nurturing corn plants in Kholshebari. 'If Ritakumari gets married on her own choice I would not see her face for seven births,' she added. 'Whoever Ritakumari desires to get married with we should let her do.' I had spoken crossing her talk. Ritakumari's mother had not accorded with my view.

'If Bambahadur deviated his mind, I will hang myself to death. What shall I do if he gets used to these in the amusement of city?' Ritakumari had spoken while she put a garland around our neck in the yard of our house at the time of his departure. 'One needs to have faith in love otherwise the meaning of love becomes like pouring water in the sand!' Bambahadur who was standing beside me, had said with satire to Ritakumari. 'Don't worry Rita, I'm with you.' I also had spoken in an arrogant manner.

I have bought four pair of saris, two pair of Dhotis, wrist rings, power, and hair band (ribbon) and scented hair oil for Ritakumari. As Rita is already beautiful, how she would look with these cosmetics of Kathmandu?' Bambahadur had spoken with a boast without taking a breath.

"Ritakumari, Bam has come back". After returning from training Bambahadur had straightly come to see me. He was smartened up with nice clothes and talked with my father of big things about the nation and international. After training, Bambahadur has become a well learned, my father had commented.

The red nose pin in a case which Bambahadur had given me, I have kept it still very carefully, in the small box on the floor. Cream powder, hair oil and scent all I have kept in the same place. This time even to remember of those things makes me stir up tears in my eyes, I wish to cry my heart out.

Yes, Bambahadur joined the Nepal army, for his father, uncles all are in the same line. He was a handsome guy; a well rounded body and a all-time bright face like a shining moon. He alone can work ten times as much as any other man, in fact Bambahadur is really a diamond.

After returning from training, probably by learning more about the capital city, Bambahadur had talked about many big things, more than the political leaders on the stage. Then we had gone to market for the day long and then we had some camy of channa and tea and talked about the village, about his wife Ritakumari.

Really I had no fear of the world. I was thoughtless and free in the world. I was in a passionate hurry to exchange my feelings with him and had wished to tell, Bambahadur, You are the best.

Then, after Bambahadur started sending letters twice a day, I would wait for the postman everyday. I would give him two rupees as tips to make him happy so he also would come first to my house. I used to be greatly pained If I didn't see the postman even for a day, and I used to go and sit under the shade of a bonyami's tree which was over my house facing South.

"Did he send any messages? Why to do such a life-sacrificing job? Soldiers and policemen are being killed daily. I have heard in these days such killers are increasing in Kathmandu." This lawless Sanakman uncle signaled me at the master Baje's house by telephone. Being the most well-informed man in the whole village, this uncle always would come up at the first if there was any need. He knew me from my childhood so I sensed that he seemed to help me. "Nothing would happen to Rita's husband." I told my uncle with trembling voice.

I had nearly been fainted and hardly could speak. "OK, now I drop the phone. I can't pay the bill any more" uncle dropped the phone without completing the talk.

"Bambahadur is said to be in hospital. Ritakumari, get ready. We should be leave right away by the 2 o'clocks bus". I told her hurriedly. Bambahadur who had gone after just two days of marriage day, now it had been seven months he had not come back home.

"At least we should have four children, got it? If one can not help, there will be another. There is a saying, brave has twelve." Only the last month, Bambahadur had written a long letter to my friend Ritakumari.

"Kamala sister always I see only your face in front of me. I have been so much restless to meet you. There is a big risk of losing life. There are many killers everywhere around. No one knows where and how we get killed by ambush or bullet? At all times, I have been living with your love". I repeat his last letter again.

"My husband loves me so much. I love him too, so passionately as though life itself comes with it. Since marriage we even have not talked with full satisfactions". Rita said. He should stay at home doing farming. Otherwise he should go Lahur. We should disjoin him from such a life consuming job. Rita's mother said with great pain.

Bambahadur left the world forever at 1.30. Last night he was caught in an ambush while in charge of duty.' Before finishing reply to Ritakumari's question, a colleague of our group, Bhim Raj Shrestha informed the others. 'The top most heads of Nepal have compelled the young people of Nepal to die, like Bambahadur who are in the age with the desire to eat and wear for their political interests.' I cried and I became stunned, I felt suffocated as though the earth crumbled.

"Though I lost my Husband for saving the country." Say Ritakumari.

You are the person to die and live for the country.

Says Ritakumari "Kamala, I will show to the world that my husband has been a martyr for the land of our birth. He has been a martyr defeating enemies of the people. Because that I know he has already left this world, he has been a martyr for the nation and people. And he has become a brave soldier.

In the dark seen through the window I'm asking for a distinct figure of Bambahadur and the justice of his body.

Journalist and Story Writer Kamala Sarup is specialising in in-depth reporting and writing on Peace, Anti War, Women, Terrorism, Democracy, and Development. Some of her publications are: Empowerment in South Asia, Nepal (Booklet). Prevention of trafficking in women through media,(Book) Efforts to Prevent Trafficking in for Media Activism (Media research). Two Stories collections.

OUR CORRESPONDENT Bhubaneswar, Jan. 7: The Orissa government has decided to inquire into the alleged “channelisation of funds” from foreign-funded NGOs to the banned Maoist outfits.

When reporters drew his attention to the allegation that some foreign-aided NGOs were funding red outfits, which have been otherwise banned by the state, home secretary T.K. Mishra said: “We will look into this aspect immediately.”

He said Maoist hand was “suspected” in the armed mob attack on Brahmanigaon police station and a nearby village on December 26. The commission of inquiry, appointed by the state government, to probe into the clashes may inquire into the possible red angle, he stressed.

The police had earlier seized country-made guns and ammunition from the mob attack site in Brahmanigaon and the mob had targeted the police, especially the former Gajapati superintendent of police, who was present at the spot. This had bolstered the state suspicion.

Describing the Kandhamal situation as “peaceful”, the home secretary said no untoward incidents have been reported in the past 24 hours. While the curfew had been withdrawn from Phulbani town, it has been relaxed in four other sensitive areas across the district.

However, the deployment of central paramilitary forces will continue till the situation normalises completely, he added. Presently, seven companies of CRPF forces have been deployed in the sensitive pockets of the district. Some 126 persons have been arrested for alleged involvement and as many as 107 cases have been booked. And 49 peace-committees have been formed, which held 61 meetings till date to facilitate peace and harmony.

Labour intensive works under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) have started in riot-hit areas to provide employment to the affected people, said chief secretary Ajit Tripathy. He, however, admitted that the incidents and agitation disrupted the programmes.

Employment

Keeping an eye on the coming Assembly elections, chief minister Naveen Patnaik today announced the engagement of 1-lakh rural workers to be called Gaon Saathi who would assist junior engineers in NREGS implementation, Naveen told reporters today. Training would be imparted to selected candidates at block levels.

Purulia, Jan. 8: The fear of Maoists is driving CPM workers out of the party in Purulia district.Fourteen CPM activists from Balarampur resigned on Sunday, close on the heels of six others.

The 14, from Balarampur’s Ghatbera Keroa village, about 310km from Calcutta. have printed leaflets explaining why they wanted to quit.

The leaflets, many of them pasted on villagers’ walls, said the CPM activists had taken the decision in “our conscious mind”.

“We are left with no option.... If we continue our association with the CPM, the Maoists will not let us live in peace,” one of the workers said.

Police records confirm that five CPM leaders have been killed by the rebels in Purulia since 2004.

The latest incident happened a week ago. Narayan Majhi, a local committee, member, was dragged out of his house and shot.

However, the most gruesome of the murders was that of CPM district secretariat member Rabi Kar and his wife Anandamoyee, who were burnt alive in 2005.

The local CPM leadership today denied that the leaflets had been issued by party members.

“The leaflets are fake. They do not have the printer’s name and address. This is part of a vicious campaign to terrorise our partymen,” alleged Gobardhan Majhi, the secretary of the Balarampur zonal committee.

However, Debendrasingh Sardar, a former CPM local committee member in Kumardih village, Balarampur, said the leaflets were “genuine”. Sardar was among the 14 CPM members who quit on Sunday.

“There is no denying that ordinary partymen like us are leaving the CPM. Our leaders are getting police security but there are no such arrangements for us. Then what should we do to save ourselves from the Maoists who are after us?” he asked.

Dhruvalal Kumar, another CPM local committee member, said he had stopped reading Ganashakti, the CPM mouthpiece, following threats from the Maoists.

An officer at Balarampur police station said it was not possible to guard all CPM workers. “Only those who are on the Maoist hit list are being given security,” he added

The victims of Maoist want justice, human rights, peace, development and freedom. Above all they want economic development. But currently, law and order have broken down in Nepal.

When the Maoist Victims Association, an organization of people displaced by Maoist violence, organized a sit-in protest they were arrested by police. The victims were demanding rehabilitation, compensation, employment and free medical treatment for those who were injured during the 10-year Maoist war.

Social and political organizations are offering no support, and are not doing enough for giving justice to victims. They have asked only that the government provide enough financial support and protection for them to return safely to their homes.

It seems the concerned socio-political organizations are not prepared to deal with Maoist victims and violence. Violent killings, kidnappings and extortion are continue even after the Maoist Party has declared peace. Victims of violence want peace, democracy and development. But the political entities have all resorted to violence to further their own causes.

A Nepali scholar Dr Kamal said: "Nepalese today live in very uncertain times. After a decade of fighting, the war -- with its violence and killings -- has become institutionalized. The Maoist victims and ordinary people are suffering on a daily basis. Hills are burning, killings have spread all over Nepal, and now the Terai region is burning. The recent incident that took place in Gaur last month, where 27 Maoists and others were butchered during a political rally, is only a picture of what lies ahead for Nepal and the Nepali people. Violence will only breed more violence, more deaths and killings".

Ethnic and Maoist violence continues to endanger the lives of the population and hinder economic recovery; civil strife and violent conflict have become commonplace. More than 15,000 people have died, many more have been injured, and millions have been deprived of their basic human rights. Human life has lost its value. The once peaceful nation of Nepal has been turned into a war zone.

On one side, the United Nations is collecting arms -- on the other side the Maoists, Ethnic Tigers are fully armed and ready to do battle. Maoists are more organized today than they ever were before.

Maoists could not care less what happens to the Nepali man, woman and child in the street.

"Police conducted raids on the offices of the Young Communist League to search for weapons, but gave them a clean bill. Who are we trying to fool? What worries me is that Nepal will become like some African countries, with no law and order, and marauding gangs roaming the countryside and even in the capital after some time. A traffic policeman can control hundreds of vehicles and pedestrians not because he is strong or armed. It is due to the legitimacy and respect people have for authority. That respect, for the first time, is steadily eroding in this country, as can be exemplified by so many motorcyclists without helmets," a local woman, Tanuja told.

We need to find the root cause of the problem of the people's suffering. Yet, there is no soul searching, no self criticism, no accountability.

Dr. Kamal further added: "Displaced women want education and employment for their children. For the past decade, the responsible institutions have failed miserably to provide quality education. Even though the literacy rate in Nepal has increased, in reality the standard of education has not improved. A whole generation of educated illiterates has been produced.

Non-governmental organizations and various donor nations have poured in millions of dollars for education reform, but look at the village schools and the teachers. There is no proper infrastructure, books, trained teachers, or even nutritious food for the children. Rampant corruption has hurt educational development and planning".

"There was a time when I could see far ahead, very far, right up to the glorious Nepal. Now I can't see beyond my compound wall," a local teacher, Charan Adhikary, told me. "There is so much of a haze, a political haze brought here by the smoke of burning jungles, just like the haze in Singapore caused by the forest fires in Indonesia."

Good governance is badly needed to mobilize the Nepali people to set local development priorities, coordinate and ensure effective implementation of development plans. It is very important that the nation understands the importance of the overall development of the people and provides them with training, education and employment.

Nepali victims are looking for a good leader.

[This article was originally published by UPI Asia Online. Nepalese journalist and story writer Kamala Sarup is specialising in in-depth reporting and writing on peace, anti war, women, terrorism, democracy, and development.]

Ranchi, Jan 9 (IANS) Fewer security personnel were killed in Jharkhand last year, but the fight against Maoist rebels continued to be intense with more civilians dying, police here said.

Only nine security personnel were killed in 2007 as compared to 43 in 2006 and 27 in 2005.

"Security forces have been alert against Maoist ambush. They have avoided travelling on non-metalled roads where Maoists plant landmines to target security personnel," a senior police official involved in anti-Maoist operations told IANS.

However, the Maoist insurgency took its toll on civilians. In 2007, 102 civilians were killed, up from 92 in 2006 and 81 in 2005. Maoist casualties also increased with 43 rebels killed against 20 in 2006 and only seven in 2005.

At least five Maoist organisations operate in the state -

CPI-Maoist,

Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC),

Sashastra Jansangharsh Shakti Morcha (SJSM),

Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC) and

Jharkhand Liberation Front (JLT).

"Maoist organisations fight among themselves for collecting maximum levy and battle for supremacy in the state. This is also responsible for the increased numbers of civilian casualties. Civilians often become targets in their infighting," said Additional Director General of Police Gauri Shankar Rath.

The gravest Maoist attack last year took place in Chilkhari village of Giridih district. Eighteen people, including Anup Marandi, son of former chief minister Babulal Marandi, were killed when the CPI-Maoist attacked a cultural programme.

Maoist rebels are active in 18 of the 24 districts of the state. In the last seven years, more than 1,000 people have been killed.

The Chandrapur district police arrested two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as Manoj Maroti Sonule and Vinayak Sonule, from Ramnagar on January 6, reports Hitavada. Police said that both are suspected to be members of the ‘Chandrapur Area Committee’ of the outfit. A hi-tech Chinese carbine gun, ammunition magazines and 135 live cartridges (9-mm) along with a large quantity of Maoist literature were recovered from the arrested Maoists.

The Superintendent of Police, Cherring Dorje, informed that the literature includes Maoists posters and handbills, CDs, dairies having details of correspondence between Vishnu Shriniwasan and Warnan Gonsalves, two hardcore Maoists who were brought to Chandrapur recently from Mumbai for investigation into the offence registered there, and full report of ninth congress of the CPI-Maoist.

New Delhi : //IANS // The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has alleged a major nexus between the Christian missionaries, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Naxalites and demanded that all foreign missionaries should be rounded up and deported.

A delegation of VHP called on President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum making this demand.

VHP general secretary Surendra Jain, with his colleagues from Orissa, has accused the Christian tribals of burning their own churches and lodging false complaints against the VHP.

Jain claimed that "every year as much as Rs 100 billion ($2.5 billion) is being sent in from just five countries for Christian conversion. We told the president this should be immediately investigated and exposed."

He also accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of targeting the VHP at the instance of Sonia Gandhi. He said the group has sough an appointment with the prime minister.

Jain said "Our constitution allows the right to preach and propagate respective religions only to Indian citizens and not to foreigners

Umesh Chandra

Umesh Chandra, IPS was bold and daring in dealing with the naxalites. He relentlessly pursued the apprehension of extremists, naxalites and other anti-social elements. He planned and led all counter-terrorist operations himself.